


Golden Days

by minyard03



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M, Olympics AU, anyways my boys win gold for the us team, because who needs originality, its not really an au tho bc they all go onto court ??, lots of happy crying, this is quite a while into the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 19:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7727728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minyard03/pseuds/minyard03
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The US Exy team has gotten to the point they've been working towards for years; the Olympic final.</p><p>(or, the one where Kevin has a mother to make proud, and Neil finally fulfills his dreams.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Golden Days

French, German, Chinese, English, Spanish.

The languages of the world were swirling around the speakers in the court, the audience booming at the final match being played out in front of their very eyes.

It was Neil’s first Olympics on the US Court, and the US Exy team had made it to the finals, with four of the best players the Exy world had seen. Kevin Day, the ambidextrous son of the sport’s creator, Kayleigh, played like his heart was on the line. Neil hadn’t seen Kevin so stressed while so into a game in years. Sweat dripped down his chin and through his helmet, his body tense with every movement, but free enough that he could run for the goal at every given opportunity. His past life as a collegiate Exy player had been long forgotten, and he was now hailed as one of the best strikers the US Court had ever recruited, his talent far surpassing a lot of his team members, and way exceeding the talent level of people who wished to be scouted for court.

There was Andrew Minyard, the tiny goalkeeper who made every single team laugh as he stepped into the huge goal. They weren’t laughing when the buzzer indicating the start of play went off, oh no. He was the goalie with a troubled past, who walked through hell and back to be where he was, standing in the Olympic goals for his national team. He was the unstoppable force the US court had needed for years. At five feet even, he didn’t look like much, and was often mocked and criticized by commentators for his height. Until most people saw him play, he was a _joke_ by the team. He was a _terrible, terrible_ _prank_ by the scouts for the team. Andrew Minyard was the shortest Exy player at the Olympics, and his height was often an insult to the team. Most were quick to retract their statements minutes into the game. 

Jeremy Knox, the most positive and dangerous force there ever was. He’d been taken off due to injury mere minutes in, but he played his heart out up until the second he fell. In the previous games to get to the finals he’d played halves with Neil, one switching with the other at half time. No loss could dull his smile, and not even a terribly broken ankle wiped the toothy grin off his face. Nobody was against taking a knee for him to be taken off the court, and the game continued on with as much ferocity as it had before it’d been stopped.

Then there was Neil. Neil Josten, the battered striker with PTSD who played every game as if his life depended on it. Rumour had it that it almost did, but nobody could confirm or deny that. The striker who looked to his friends with pride while walking behind the flag at the opening ceremony, instead of his parents. Who thanked his old college coach for giving him a chance, who smiled when asked who his greatest influence was, and told an interviewer once that it was someone close to him who allowed him to get so far in his Exy career. His red hair was matted with sweat beneath his helmet, and with minutes to go, he couldn’t afford to stop thinking about gold.

Ireland had already gotten third, surprisingly, and the US team was up against the Japanese team in the final Exy game of the olympics. The lineup of teams was unsurprising, though the fact that Ireland had made it to medal position was a new feat. They hadn’t had that sort of a win since Exy was first introduced to the Olympics, with Kayleigh Day playing starting striker. She wasn’t that young anymore then, but the sudden boom in popularity of her  _ own  _ sport convinced her to play for the first Irish olympic team. She moved to the States after that, having a son who would go on to play in the same position she did 30 years previous. 

The score was 3-2 to the US team, but even with minutes left, nobody could take any amount of points for granted. As far as either team was concerned, they were both 0-0, and the three minutes left were the last seconds of the game. Nobody was giving up, no matter how many burning lungs or aching feet littered the court. The crowd roared with every movement, chants of each country echoing off the Court walls. The ball went back and forth, back and forth, and the tension filled as either team got too close to the other’s goal. Though a  _ very  _ forceful throw hadn’t gotten through the goals on Japan’s part, Andrew was not willing to let it get so close again. He shot the ball as far as he could manage, to land it in Neil’s net. He took his ten steps, passed across the court to Kevin, who passed right back. The goal was in his sights, and he was quickly being surrounded by Japanese players. He burst through them, ball in his racquet, and put all his might into a shot towards the Japanese goal. He managed to fool the goalie into diving for the wrong side, and pumped his racquet into the air as the goal lit up red. The crowd went wild, and Neil didn’t have the energy to waste to do a celebratory run that soccer players tended to do. He did high five one of his own players while getting back into position, and continued the game on, with very fierce fight from the other team. The time ticked down, the crowd getting louder and louder with every passing second. Only, their cheering came to a climax eventually, and a loud end game buzzer rang out through the stadium.

“Oh my God.” Kevin Day tore his helmet off, staring up at the scoreboard. USA 4 - 2 JPN. “Oh my  _ fucking God.” _ He looked over at Neil, who wore the same surprised expression. They’d just won Gold at the fucking olympics. The US Exy team had just gotten a Gold medal. At the  _ Olympics. _

“Did that just happen?” Neil pulled Kevin into a hug, still absolutely speechless. The crowd was still screaming, and Kevin had burst out into a smile, mumbling, “I think so.”

When Kevin pulled back to show off to the cameras, eyes filled with tears, Neil turned around to face the US goal. He was beaming, a smile from ear to ear. In Russian, he yelled across the court, “Yes or no?” to Andrew, who had already dropped his racquet to come out of the goal. Neil broke into a near sprint then, running towards Andrew as the rest of his team celebrated. Andrew had his arms already outstretched as Neil joined him, and he nearly toppled over at the force Neil hugged him at.

“Fucking hell.” Neil whispered into Andrew’s ear, the two spinning as they hugged, Neil taking in the sights and sounds around him but also the fact that he was in Andrew’s arms. “This was you.”

“This was the team.” Andrew’s lips grazed Neil’s neck as he spoke, and it only took him a second to ask the question back. “Yes or no?”. He barely had the question out before Neil had said yes, and Andrew brought his head back. He took in the beauty of Neil’s pride, with happy tears spilling from his eyes, sweat beading his forehead. A smile drawn from one side of his face to the other, . He let out a happy laugh before bringing his lips to Andrew’s, and he kissed him. He kissed him to drown out the sounds of commentators in English and Spanish babbling on about the win, and he kissed him to feel at home thousands of miles away from home. He kissed him to tell the world that he didn’t fucking care what they thought of him, he was happy. Neil was happy and he was home. After pulling back, they rested their foreheads together, only to notice their faces were plastered on half the screens around the stadium. Neil planted a kiss on his forehead, wiped his eyes, and ran down the court to join the rest of his team. Andrew was quick to follow.

Even after great argument, Jeremy Knox had refused to be taken out of the stadium. He’d been crying too, and hobbled onto the court. He wrapped an arm around Kevin’s shoulders, and pictures were taken. He hobbled across the court to shake hands with the Silver medal winning team, and only six remained on the court as interviewers asked their questions. That was, until Jean Moreau appeared at the doors of the court. It had been years since Kevin or Neil has seen him, and he was in the best shape he’d been in since he was 15 years old. He’d gotten the tattoo removed, which made him less recognisable, but Jeremy Knox was back hopping across the court in an instant. It was a wonder how he’d been allowed access to the court, but Jeremy reached him as fast as he could and engulfed him in a hug. He said something to him, and cameras were back on the pair as soon as they’d pulled back from the hug. It didn’t take long for Neil to hear an American commentator mentioning Jean and his affiliation with ‘The Perfect Court’, and his decision to drop Exy after leaving college. He looked happy, and was smiling as he spoke to Jeremy across the court.

Kevin speaking brought Neil back to the moment, and he looked at the green eyed striker who was spouting nonsense, blabbering on into a microphone, being broadcasted to the whole stadium. Probably the world, too. 

“What do you think your mother would think of such a win?”

The go to question for Kevin since he’d joined court was always about his mother. Only, this time, instead of being an annoyance, Kevin’s smile got even wider and tears were brought to his eyes once again.

“My mom stood here thirty two years ago with a silver medal in her sights and I hope I’ve made her proud with a gold.” He was yelling, trying to be heard over the noise from the crowd. “This is where she would have wanted me to be, and I hope my dad is watching this and knows he’s one of the reasons I’m here today.” Neil almost started crying himself, thinking about Wymack and Abby somewhere in the crowd, seeing what their players had become. He hoped the rest of the foxes were watching back in America, too. He hoped Dan and Matt were with their kids, pointing out the three of them and telling them that those are their friends. He hoped Erik and Nicky were in Germany, and Nicky wasn’t freaking out too bad over the fact that Andrew and Neil had just hugged  _ and  _ kissed on live, international TV. He hope Renee was watching, wherever she was, and saw the genuine smirk on Andrew’s face and realized how far he’d come. He hoped Allison was watching wherever  _ she  _ was, and remembered her days as a fox. He hoped Aaron felt pride when he looked at his brother, and he hoped Bee was beaming with it to see Andrew as a gold medal winning Olympian. 

The moment that really cemented it all for Neil was standing on the podium, a wreath around his head, a bouquet in his hands, and a gold, olympic medal hanging around his neck. He looked to the side at Andrew, who adorned the same thing, and couldn’t help but start smiling again. 

“You look good in a flower crown.” Neil whispered in Russian, causing Andrew to roll his eyes. Kevin was sobbing quietly, staring at the gold medal he’d lifted with his hands.

“You look good in Gold.” Andrew retorted, smiling slightly as they posed for pictures. The second they got off the podiums and were done with pictures, Andrew pulled out his phone. He didn’t seem to care about whatever timezone difference there may have been, and brought Neil into a somewhat quiet corner to speak to Bee.

Kevin would’ve done the same, only instead he went searching for Wymack. He’d promised when Kevin graduated to be there with him through everything, whether that was his first epic loss or his first Olympic win. He had to be here. It was hard to see through the happy tears that kept coming back, but eventually, walking right past the changing rooms, he saw a man standing in orange with a woman by his side. Abby had started crying again, and Wymack pulled Kevin into a bone crushing hug.

“I have never been so on edge watching an Exy game in my life,” Wymack commented, speaking directly into Kevin’s ear. “I had to pull up your damn wikipedia page to get them to let me down here, you know.”

“I’m glad you could come, both of you.”

_ Proud, proud, proud. _ It was the word that came from Wymack and Abby, it was the word that came in French from Jean, it was the world that came over and over again from Bee. Proud was the single word Nicky tweeted, or a word packed into the rushed text Renee sent to Andrew. It was the first thing Dan and Matt said over skype when they arrived back at their hotel room, and it was the word that Allison had sent to Neil. Even Aaron had called, late that night, to tell Andrew he was proud. There was nothing more that could be felt.

They had convinced their team to allow them to share a room together, and Andrew sat on the balcony facing Neil at 4am. His suit shirt had been ripped open, after changing into one post-game. He had a bottle of wine in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. The USA flag hanging off the balcony ensured they couldn’t be seen, except maybe by the person staying in the room next door. Neil held a cigarette too, but still didn’t smoke it. His shirt was equally as messed up, untucked and with a few buttons missing.

“I don’t know what to say.” Neil said again, for what must’ve been the hundredth time since they’d gotten back to their room.

“Don’t say anything, then.” Andrew took a long drag from his cigarette, and titled his head back, blowing smoke into the air. He didn’t smoke as often now, only every once in awhile. The smell of smoke was another thing that brought Neil home, so he thought it appropriate to light one up while sat on the balcony. Andrew took another swig from the bottle, not caring for class, before passing it across to Neil. 

“We’re champions.” Neil took a long sip from the bottle, and replaced it in between them. The night was quiet, with only the distant thrumming of loud music from a club down below. 

“We are.” Andrew agreed.

“We won.” Neil locked eyes with Andrew. “We won gold at the fucking Olympics. We did that.”

“We did.” Andrew confirmed it. Neil started smiling again. “Is this all you’re going to be talking about for months?” Neil nodded, and received a cloud of smoke in his face.

 

“Aren’t you glad you stopped running, then.”

**Author's Note:**

> legit everyones talking about olympics aus so this like ,, the boys winning the olympics isn't a very original idea but here's my rushed and messy take on it thank u <3


End file.
